vessels inside and out

Today we hear about the inside and outside of our "vessels" in our reading from the One Year Bible. CLICK HERE for the OT reading, and HERE for the NT.

Jesus is talking to the scribes and Pharisees, and He has some harsh words for them. And we can learn something from what He tells them. One of those things is that it's at least as important what we do INSIDE as what we do outside.

There is an amusing interview on Saturday Night Live where the host of a talk show asks Christian Slater what his secret is to being so "sassy". And Slater says, "Oh, you know... clean living and dirty thinking." While that's funny (in my opinion), it is I think not possible. Our thoughts affect our words, our words affect our actions, our actions create our habits, and our habits form our character. So if we are living daily with "dirty thinking", we will eventually end up with dirty characters.

That's why Jesus teaches us to "clean the inside" and then the outside will be clean, too. Because what is in our hearts is what comes out eventually. We see this idea repeated when Mary and Joseph take Jesus to Jerusalem for his dedication and circumcision. A prophet tells the young couple that Jesus will suffer, and the "thoughts of many will be laid bare." In such circumstances, the inner thoughts of people become manifest.

What will your inner thoughts manifest? What thinking do you have throughout the day that you would be happy to become your character? Which ones would not?

God, please help us to purify our thoughts, so our characters might become pleasing to You.